EU urges Poland's president to end tribunal standoff

Protests at Poland's Constitutional Tribunal continued Saturday, with President Karol Nawrocki's crisis meeting yielding no solution. The EU is urging Nawrocki to approve judges nominated by parliament. Demonstrations erupted after the tribunal's chief judge was suspended. Nawrocki refuses to accept judges backed by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European government. Tusk condemned attempts to "destroy democracy," calling Friday's turmoil "terrible," and the EU Commission backed his demand for approval. The suspended chief judge Bogdan Swieczkowski was appointed under the previous PiS government. Since Tusk's coalition took power in 2023, it has sought to reform Poland's judicial institutions, with both sides accusing each other of seeking control over the court.